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Press Release: What Do Citizens Want From Brexit? – Free Movement, Healthcare and Non-Discrimination

20 June 2017
Brexit survey

Restrictions to the right of free movement are the biggest concern for both EU and UK citizens, who  value the right to live and work in another EU Member State above all other EU rights, according to the findings of a survey published by ECAS today.

Whilst the top concern of both EU and UK respondents related to restrictions to free movement, UK citizens are more afraid of losing their EU citizenship and EU citizens more concerned about an uncertain future, discrimination and xenophobia.

Among the findings of the survey, 96 per cent of UK and 86 per cent of EU respondents felt personally affected by Brexit and a majority of both groups have become more socially and politically engaged after the EU referendum, as well as becoming better informed about the current political situation and more vocal about their rights.

Despite being more politically engaged, however, an increasing number of UK and EU citizens consider themselves to be less aware of their rights than before the referendum. In all, there was a 10 to 15 percentage point decrease in rights awareness among all respondents as a result of the referendum.

This activity was carried out in the framework of the Citizen Brexit Observatory, a partnership of the European Citizen Action Service (ECAS), the University of Sheffield School of Law and the Law Centres Network to support fair treatment of EU citizens living in the UK and UK citizens living in the EU.

Full press release

Survey report

Citizen Brexit Observatory

Survey presentation